Welcome to Safe Food Mitra
“Palm oil is a vegetable oil that comes from the fruit of the oil palm tree,” explains Megan Wroe, wellness manager and registered dietitian at St. Jude Medical Center in Southern California.
It’s extracted from the mesocarp, the reddish pulp of the fruit of oil palms. These trees originally hail from Western Africa, says Nichole Dandrea-Russert, the nutritionist behind purelyplanted.com and the author of “The Fiber Effect.” However, she adds, “they can grow in any tropical climate where heat and rainfall are abundant.”
Because it’s relatively affordable to produce, highly versatile, pale in color and odorless, palm oil has become a staple of the American industrial food system, says Dana Ellis Hunnes, a senior clinical dietitian at UCLA Medical Center, assistant professor at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and author of “Recipe For Survival.” It can be found in everything from food items and supplements to beauty products, detergents and biofuels.
Palm oil makes foods creamier and adds to their shelf life, plus it doesn't have the trans fats that come with other types of hydrogenated oils (in hydrogenated oils, hydrogen atoms are added to fat molecules via a chemical process to achieve the same consistency). It all adds up to a wonder product of sorts that solves a lot of problems for food packagers and other producers of consumer goods.
Dandrea-Russert notes that while very small amounts may be present in some items, “it's found in over 50% of consumer-packaged products. Big companies love the versatility of palm oil because it’s inexpensive, shelf-stable and can be used in everything from food to cosmetics to household cleaners, making it a very profitable ingredient.”
Products that typically contain palm oil include:
It’s also found in a range of other consumer products, including:
While this oil is found in many of the products you use each day, it’s got a big downside, Hunnes says. “It’s terrible for the environment and endangered species where it is produced.”
Two audits recently released by the European Commission’s health and safety agency have assessed the safety of milk and dairy products in Romania and...
U.S. News
22Feb India launches a series of food safety measures, but experts warn gaps remain.
22Feb Food safety team carries out checks at fish market, food samples seized
22Feb Food Safety team fines violators under Section 69 of the Food Safety and Standards Act
22Feb Bengal govt to set up laboratories in Terai and Dooars to check food safety compliance of teas
22Feb India’s Palm Oil Imports Fall To 14-yr Low In Jan: Report
Populars Courses
0000-00-00 00:00:00